


Coming Back

by moonmoth (greyvvardenfell)



Series: Fictober 2019 [26]
Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:02:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23572048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greyvvardenfell/pseuds/moonmoth
Summary: Asra and Noreis revisit Noreis' home village.
Relationships: Apprentice/Asra (The Arcana)
Series: Fictober 2019 [26]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1696495





	Coming Back

**Author's Note:**

> For the Fictober prompt: "I can't come back."

A blossom the same cotton-white as Asra’s fluffy hair floated past his head, drifting gently on the sea breeze that wound its way through the clifftop groves. He smiled and called it back to his hand with a silent whisper of magic, a suggestion it leapt to answer.

“Look, ‘Reis,” Asra said, holding the flower out. “First one of the season, don’t you think? I can’t see any others on the ground yet.”

Noreis took the proffered bloom and cradled it in both palms, staring into its bright yellow center like a gazing ball. The four-fold symmetry seemed to captivate him, draw him in, until a single tear dripped off the end of his nose and landed on the curve of one petal, sliding down to pool in the center.

“‘Reis? Noreis?! What’s wrong?”

Faust popped out of Asra’s collar to investigate the source of the distress, and seeing Noreis’ bowed head, crawled down his arm and periscoped onto Noreis’ narrow shoulders to coil around his neck.

 _Scared_ , she suggested, after flicking her tongue over his tears. _Home_.

Asra stared wide-eyed from her to him, his hand gently lowering to cover the flower he’d picked up. “Are you scared to be here, honey?”

“You already know the answer to that. I can feel Faust’s weight.”

Asra blushed and looked at the ground. “It’s only fair that I give you the chance to tell me yourself.”

Noreis’ brilliant green eyes stood out even more vibrantly in the field of tears that surrounded them when he lifted his head. “What if this journey was a huge mistake, Asra?” he choked out, hands trembling, threatening to drop the delicate bloom he still held. “Why did I ever say I wanted to come back here? I can’t come back!”

“You can do anything.” Asra moved closer, wiping a stray tear from his cheek and shifting Faust back into his sash. “You’ve proven that over and over. You’re so strong, ‘Reis. Strong enough for this. And I’ll be here with you every step of the way.” He smiled encouragingly and wrapped his fingers around Noreis’, supporting the flower and his hands from below.

“But I haven’t set foot in that village since I was ten! That’s when we ran away, dead of the night, nothing but our clothes and, and—”

“It’s alright, it’s okay. Can you take a deep breath for me?” He inhaled, held the air in his lungs until Noreis joined him and they could exhale together. “We don’t have to go anywhere you don’t want to. We could stay in this little copse, maybe, and just look out at the ocean. I bet the stargazing would be great from up here.”

Noreis gave a small smile, still focused on steadying his breathing. When he could, he swallowed hard and nodded. “It is. I used to come up into these trees all the time when I was a kid. Close to the sky, close to the sea… I thought I could hear Maman singing to me when the leaves rustled.”

“Maybe you did.”

His mouth twisted into a grimace. “I wouldn’t have recognized her voice even if I had.”

Asra sighed heavily. “I know, ‘Reis. But something drew you here. I heard once that dogwood is especially good at drawing magic in from the land around it. Maybe she lived on in this grove after all, watching over you.”

Noreis closed his hands around the dogwood flower and brought it close to his chest. Asra, with his own hands still cupped under it, took another step closer and rested his forehead against Noreis’.

“Maybe you’re right,” Noreis said after a long, contemplative silence. “And something told me that it was time to return here, too. It’s been ten years, after all, and I have you now.”

Asra grinned and tilted Noreis’ face up to his for a tender kiss. “Yes, you do. My heart is yours.”


End file.
